Mouse sits at her desk, briskly poking away at her keyboard. Politenessman strolls up to her work station with a dapper swagger. “Hello, Ms. Mouse. Might I trouble you for a moment of your time?” he politely asks.

Mouse agrees and Politenessman continues, “I have reason to believe that the scoundrel Count Nemesis might be the perpetrator responsible for my pilfered feast.”

“What reason would that be?” she asks.

“Ernie left me this note.” Politenessman produces a note for Mouse to see. On it, scrawled in a rage red crayon font, it says: THE COUNT DID IT.

“I can see how you came to that conclusion,” Mouse responds.

Moments later, Mouse and Politenessman peek over the top of a cubicle and spy Count Nemesis’ desk. He isn’t at home. The desk looks sparse and villainous, just like its owner. There are creepy pictures of himself taped to his cubicle walls. The dynamic duo sneak over to his desk.

“We can’t search a co-worker’s desk without their permission,” Mouse reminds Politenessman.

“No, that would not be very proper of us,” Politenessman concurs. “Which is why we won’t be doing any such thing.” Politenessman removes his hat and hands it to Mouse. “Will you be a dear and hold this for me a moment?”

Politenessman disappears behind Ernie’s heated eyes. He loosens his tie and rolls up his sleeves. “Lemme at this bozo’s desk!” Ernie yells as he takes control of his and Politenessman’s shared body.

“Oh goodness,” Mouse sighs while massaging her forehead.

Ernie lunges forward and grabs the handle on one of Count Nemesis’ desk drawers. Mouse instinctively jumps after him, but she’s too late. SWOOSH! The two of them vanish from sight, leaving Politenessman’s hat on the ground.

Ernie and Mouse open their eyes and look around. They find themselves inside what appears to be a cavernous warehouse. Lined up in rows that reach as far as the eye can see are all kinds of bizarre contraptions, weapons, secret plans, and spare robot arms. In the center of it all is a large black desk containing multiple computer screens, each monitoring different world events. “Where the blazes are we!?” Ernie shouts.

Mouse points to the ceiling where she can see two sets of tracks and rollers on each wall. “Look! Count Nemesis must have installed a pocket dimension in the office. We’re inside his desk drawer!”

Ernie throws his hands up in frustration. “Well that’s just super! How are we gonna escape this joint!?”

How are they gonna escape? New chapters of STAN LEE’S WORK FORCE are published every Tuesday and Thursday, so you’ll have to check back here to find out!